Refrigerated dough or fresh dough, i.e., dough contained in a container and sold out of the refrigerated case at the grocery store, has long been a popular item. Typically, the dough is chemically leavened and formulated for storage in containers which will maintain the pressure generated by the leavening action of the leaveners in the dough. All a cook need do to prepare biscuits or the like from the contained dough is to open the container and place the dough in the oven and bake.
Two problems have been attendant with such products. One problem is low baked specific volume, a typical average value of which is about 3.7 cc. per gram. The second problem is that the chemically leavened refrigerated dough does not bake up like a yeast-leavened bread, that is, it does not exhibit yeast bread characteristics, particularly texture, specific volume and has less desirable taste.
The present invention provides by a simple expedient a means for providing a substantially higher specific volume in the baked product while providing a more bread-like texture. Also, the present invention is particularly well adapted for providing a refrigerated or fresh dough product which can be used for making loaf bread texture rather than a biscuit-type textured bread.
It was unexpectedly found that by having the release rate of pressure below a predetermined level or rate that a higher specific volume could be achieved. Also, it was unexpectedly found that by preparing the fresh dough in a specific manner before placing in the can that yeast bread-like texture can be achieved in a chemically leavened product.